Yikes

[RedRiderCan]

Sitting in California, no dc power. Everything was good, 93% battery, running the microwave to heat up dinner when all dc went dead. No pooched fuses . Anyone that has advice it would be appreciated sitting in the dark

 

[CharlesinGA]

So, were you running the MW on an inverter? If so, there may be a fuse on the batteries that blew, or the inverter may have an internal circuit breaker.

You need to describe your system as it could be many things depending on what you have in the way of electrical equipment.

Charles

 

[RedRiderCan]

We have a 2023 21 ne, lithium package with 1500 w go power inverter, 100 ah hub lion battery,WFCO battery detection system. All fuse are intact in the WFCO , the 200 a and 80 a fuses at the buss bar are also intact

 

[7Gentex]

If all DC is dead, check the BIG main fuse at the batts.

Have a multimeter on hand by chance to verify battery status?

 

[RedRiderCan]

The big main fuses are both intact. I do not have access to a multimeter. The system DOES work off the truck battery

 

[RedRiderCan]

At this point my best guess is the hub lion battery is pooched. Interesting that everything was peachy until it wasn’t. The victron meter was showing 93% just minutes before the darknes

 

[7Gentex]

Sounds as if you found the battery to be the culprit.

Either it is dead, or the BMS cut it off for an overdraw?

Is the truck battery powering the inverter and the microwave OK? (doubtful)

Enjoy dinner!

 

[GinoandLinda]

Agree that your battery is probably dead or hit its discharge limit. Do you hear an audible alarm from the inverter before it died? The discharge limit is set in your battery monitor system. Not sure which one you have, probably Victron.

 

[fudge_brownie]

Something happen with the master switch? I know they have eliminated the easy to bump switch, but did you do something to the red dial switch next to the battery? Sometimes called the battery disconnect switch.

So many solutions depend on having a multimeter, it would be worthwhile to purchase one, any auto supply store will have one. Good videos on uTube for learning how to use it.

 

[Donna D.]

IF you have an inverter, did you check the main fuse box? Often owners don't even know about this. On my 5.0TA, it's hanging from the rear cabinets nearest the main electric cord.

 

[Mike G]

If my trailer electric went completely dead, I would probably blow a fuse!

Hopefully you are keeping your cool. I wonder if the battery has an internal breaker that is supposed to reset itself, but didn't? If so, replacing the internal circuit board (or whatever) might repair it... but of course that's not something you can readily do on a camping trip.

 

[Selkirk]

Either it is dead, or the BMS cut it off for an overdraw?

Edited due to my attempt to do math before my first cup of coffee....

Is this the first time you've used the microwave with this inverter/battery set-up? How much power was it drawing?

A single 100 AH HUBLiON battery is rated at 100A max continuous power draw. That's well below the capacity of the inverter. The inverter is about 90% efficient. That means if the microwave was drawing more than about 7.5A 10.5A continually, the BMS might shut the battery down due to overcurrent.

 

[RedRiderCan]

Agree that your battery is probably dead or hit its discharge limit. Do you hear an audible alarm from the inverter before it died? The discharge limit is set in your battery monitor system. Not sure which one you have, probably Victron.

After going to bed at an unusually early hour we woke up this morning to dc power.! Yes we have Victron where there was no alarm before everything crashed. My guess of the dead battery was wrong. As I mentioned the victron monitor was showing 93% capacity before it crashed. The microwave was only on for a few seconds and just two interior lights were on and the fridge.

 

[RedRiderCan]

Thank you to all for your input, we are back on the road with functional DC

 

[Ron in BC]

Have a multimeter on hand by chance to verify battery status?

So many solutions depend on having a multimeter, it would be worthwhile to purchase one, any auto supply store will have one. Good videos on uTube for learning how to use it.

A classic case where a 10 buck cheapo mulitmeter could likely pin down the problem in minutes.

IF you have an inverter, did you check the main fuse box? Often owners don't even know about this. On my 5.0TA, it's hanging from the rear cabinets nearest the main electric cord.
View attachment 980555

That's caught a few folks by surprise.

Ron

 

[7Gentex]

IF you have an inverter, did you check the main fuse box? Often owners don't even know about this. On my 5.0TA, it's hanging from the rear cabinets nearest the main electric cord.
View attachment 980555

Donna D. - is that really your "main" breaker box, or the sub-panel downstream of the main breaker and transfer switch (shore power / inverter)? "All outlets" setup.

My "main" breaker box is part of the WFCO power center though my sub-panel (under the side dinette - no pic) only has 2ea. 15 amp breakers (E19) - appears you have 4 breakers.

 

[vermilye]

Thank you to all for your input, we are back on the road with functional DC

Depending on the exact model of 100 ah hub lion battery you may have either a 100 amp or 150 amp maximum load. The battery BMS will shut off the battery if the load is exceeded. While the 700 watt microwave usually supplied by Escape would be marginal on a 150 amp BMS, the microwave could easily exceed the limits of a 100 amp BMS. After shut down, the BMS will eventually turn the battery back on. It is usually suggested to go with either at least a 200 amp hour battery with a 200 amp BMS or a pair of 100 amp hour batteries, each with a 100 amp BMS in parallel, providing a total of 200 amp output.

 

[Mike G]

Depending on the exact model of 100 ah hub lion battery you may have either a 100 amp or 150 amp maximum load. The battery BMS will shut off the battery if the load is exceeded. While the 700 watt microwave usually supplied by Escape would be marginal on a 150 amp BMS, the microwave could easily exceed the limits of a 100 amp BMS. After shut down, the BMS will eventually turn the battery back on. It is usually suggested to go with either at least a 200 amp hour battery with a 200 amp BMS or a pair of 100 amp hour batteries, each with a 100 amp BMS in parallel, providing a total of 200 amp output.

700W / 12V = about 59A draw. Even with some inefficiency losses in the inverter and wiring, I wouldn't have thought that a 700W microwave "could easily exceed the limits of a 100 amp BMS". What am I missing?

 

[vermilye]

Two things to consider - a 700 watt microwave, particularly an inexpensive one can draw as much as 1000 watts input. Second - Escape has been known to "skimp" on wire size. If the wiring to the inverter is undersized, the voltage drop will cause the inverter to draw more current to make up for the voltage drop.

When I switched to lithium in 2018, in discussion with Battleborn they recommended at least two 100 amp hour batteries when combined with a 1500 watt inverter. The thought I might get away with one, but from their experience with other installations (this was when they were one of a very few lithium battery suppliers) a single 100 amp BMS was cutting it close. Shortly after installing the two batteries, I switched to a 900 watt inverter microwave so I don't have current readings for the 700 watt.

 

[CE Vogel]

I agree that most likely the battery BMS went into overcurrent shutdown. According to the HubLion manual, the battery will reset a few minutes after the overload is removed. I also agree with others that one battery is probably insufficient to run a 1500W inverter at full load. Installing a second battery will prevent repeat of this shutdown.